Spring Training

This weekend, one of the writers at Rival.com asked an interesting question:

Is the current 15-day spring training schedule good for college football? Is it too much? Is it not enough?

Under NCAA rules, teams can have spring training, but only for 15 days. Most coaches gripe and grumble that this just isn’t enough. You know what? I disagree. 15 days is more than enough.

My biggest complaint with this kind of thing in college football is that most of the players will never, ever get paid for this. They play during the fall in the hopes that they will stand out, and between travel, practices, and games, that can mean zero time for school work. So, I’m assuming that these players take a lighter load in the fall – some gimme classes, and maybe fewer credits.

But if you do that in the fall, you have to make up for it in the spring. If players were required to do a month or two of spring training, it wouldn’t be possible to deal with a hard academic schedule. For the Matt Ryans of this world, that’s no big deal. But what about the players who never get drafted. They don’t just need a degree; they need to learn how to survive in their industry.

15 days give coaches the time to review upcoming plans, and it allows the newcomers to show off a bit in the hopes of playing in the fall. It allows new hires to understand their teams, and it gives some motivation to players who’ve fallen out of shape. BUT it doesn’t allow football to control the student’s life every spare moment.

And I love college football, but that’s a good thing.